TompkinsERWCEnglish

ESSAYPROMPTANDASSIGNMENT11

On June 25, 2012, the SupremeCourt ruledthat juveniles whocommitted

murder could not be sentenced to life in prison because it violated the
Eighth Amendments ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Justice
Elena Kagan
, writing for the
majority
, stated that Mandatory life without
parole for a juvenile precludes consideration of his chronological age and
its hallmark featuresamong them, immaturity, impetuosity, and failureto
appreciate risks and consequences. It prevents taking into account the
family and home environment that surrounds him and from which he
cannot usually extricate himselfno matter how brutal or dysfunctional.
However, four justices strongly
disagreed
, arguing that mandatory
sentences reflected the will of American society that heinous crimes
committed byjuvenilesshouldalwaysbepunishedwithasentencetolifein
prison.
Justice Alito noted that otherwise, Even a 17 yearold who sets
offa bomb in acrowded mall orgunsdownadozenstudentsandteachers
is a child and must be given a chance to persuade a judge to permithis
releaseintosociety
Yourresponse:Whatwillitbe?Researchisthekey.
DoyouagreewiththemajorityofSupremeCourtjusticeswhoarguedto
abolishmandatorylifeinprisonforjuvenileswhocommitmurderorwiththe
minoritywhoarguedtoretainit?
Whichauthororauthorsthatwehavereadsupportyourposition?What
evidencedotheyprovide?
Whichauthororauthorssupportthosewhodisagreewithyou?What
evidencedotheyprovide?
Writeaworkingthesis.

TompkinsERWCEnglish

ESSAYPROMPTANDASSIGNMENT11

11.ConsideringStructureEvaluatingThesisStatements
instructions: Using the guidelines for developing effective thesis statements, evaluate
Thompsons thesis statement. Then evaluatethethesisstatementstaken from student
essays below. Label them very effective, OK, or not effective, and
briefly explain
eachofyourdecisions
.

GuidelinesforDevelopingThesisStatements
A thesis reflectsthewriterspositionon a questionthathas morethanoneside.After
reading thethesis,the reader should be abletoexplainwhattheissueisandwhatside
oftheargumentthewriterison.
Develop a thesis statement that makes the topic andyour opinionorpositiononthe
topiccleartoyourreader.
Chooseonesideoftheissueifyourtopicrequiresit,butyoumayqualifyyourposition.
If the topic asks to what extent you agreeordisagree witha statement, be sure to
explain how strongly you agree or disagree. You may include a because statement,
butyoudonotneedtolistallthereasonsforyourposition.
Neitherafactual statementnoraquestionmakeaneffectivethesisbecausethey
donotreflectthewriterspositionontheissue.

ThompsonsThesis
In terms of cognitive development, as research on the human brain has shown,
Brazillandanyotheryoungteenisfarfromadulthood.

StudentThesisStatements
1.Juvenileoffendersareyoungpeopleundertheageof18whocommitcrimes.

TompkinsERWCEnglish

ESSAYPROMPTANDASSIGNMENT11

2. Sentencing juvenilesto mandatorylife in prison isnecessarybecause it keepsthem

from committing more crimes. Also, its what the families of victims want, anditholds
theteenmurderersaccountableforwhattheydid.

3. Juveniles must be held accountable for their crimes, but they must be treated
differentlythanadults.

4.Sentencingjuvenilestolifeinprisonisbothgoodandbad.

5. Childrens crimes should not bebrushedoff,but it isnotright to throw children who

dont even understand the enormity of the crime that they have committed into the
slammerforlife.

6. With a growing number of young adults being tried and sentenced as adults for
violentcrimes,thequestionarises,Whydidtheycommitthesecrimes?

Nowbrainstormathesisstatementpriortobeginningyourwritingonthecomputer:
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________